In today’s data-driven world, Microsoft Excel remains an indispensable tool for managing and analyzing information. Often, you might find yourself working with multiple Excel worksheets, whether they are different versions of the same report, or entirely separate datasets that need to be reconciled. The challenge then becomes: how do you efficiently identify the differences between these worksheets? Manually scrutinizing rows and columns is time-consuming and prone to errors. Fortunately, Microsoft offers a powerful utility called Spreadsheet Compare, designed specifically for Comparing 2 Excel Worksheets and highlighting their disparities. This guide will walk you through how to use Spreadsheet Compare to effectively analyze and understand the variations between your Excel files.
What is Microsoft Spreadsheet Compare?
Microsoft Spreadsheet Compare is a tool designed to pinpoint the differences between two Excel workbooks or even two versions of the same workbook. It goes beyond simply identifying changed values; it can detect differences in formulas, macros, cell formatting, and more. This is invaluable for tasks like auditing spreadsheets, ensuring data consistency across versions, or troubleshooting errors arising from unintended modifications.
Important Note: It’s crucial to remember that Spreadsheet Compare is not a standalone application included in every version of Excel. It’s available as part of Office Professional Plus 2013, Office Professional Plus 2016, Office Professional Plus 2019, and Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. If you are using a standard version of Office, you might not have access to this tool.
Opening Spreadsheet Compare
Accessing Spreadsheet Compare is straightforward if you have a compatible version of Office. Here’s how to open it:
- Go to the Start Menu in Windows.
- Look for Spreadsheet Compare in your list of applications. You might find it under the Microsoft Office tools or a similar category depending on your Windows version.
- If you can’t immediately see it, simply start typing “Spreadsheet Compare” directly into the Start Menu search bar.
- Click on the Spreadsheet Compare application to launch it.
Once opened, you’ll be ready to start comparing your Excel worksheets. Alongside Spreadsheet Compare, you might also encounter Microsoft Database Compare, a similar tool for Access databases, which is also part of the Office Professional Plus suite.
Step-by-Step Guide: Comparing Two Excel Workbooks
Let’s delve into the process of comparing 2 excel worksheets using Spreadsheet Compare. Follow these steps to effectively analyze your files:
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Initiate the Comparison: In the Spreadsheet Compare window, navigate to the Home tab and click on Compare Files. This action will open the Compare Files dialog box.
Screenshot of the Compare Files button within the Home tab of Microsoft Spreadsheet Compare application.
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Select the “Compare” Workbook (Older Version): Locate the Compare box in the dialog. Click on the blue folder icon situated next to it. This will open a file explorer window. Browse to and select the earlier version of your Excel workbook that you wish to use as the basis for comparison. Spreadsheet Compare allows you to select files from your local computer, network drives, or even enter a web address if your workbooks are stored online.
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Select the “To” Workbook (Newer Version): Next, find the To box. Click the green folder icon beside it. Again, a file explorer window will appear. This time, navigate to and choose the more recent version of the workbook, or the second workbook you want to compare against the first. Click OK after selecting the file.
Tip: You can compare two files even if they share the same name, as long as they are saved in different folders. This is especially useful when comparing versions saved in different locations.
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Choose Comparison Options: In the left-hand pane of the Compare Files dialog, you’ll see a list of options. These options let you specify what aspects of the workbooks you want to compare. You can check or uncheck boxes to include or exclude elements like Formulas, Macros, Cell Format, Comments and more. For a comprehensive comparison, you can simply click Select All.
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Run the Comparison: Once you’ve selected your workbooks and chosen your comparison options, click OK to initiate the comparison process. Spreadsheet Compare will then analyze the two files based on your selected criteria.
Password Protected Workbooks: If either of the workbooks is password protected, you might encounter an “Unable to open workbook” message. If this occurs, click OK and you will be prompted to enter the password for the protected workbook. Spreadsheet Compare needs the password to access and compare the contents.
Understanding the Comparison Results
After running the comparison, Spreadsheet Compare presents the findings in a clear, two-pane grid. The workbook you selected as the “Compare” file (typically the older one) is displayed on the left pane, while the “To” file (usually the newer one) appears on the right. Below these grids, a details pane provides further information about the identified differences.
Changes are visually highlighted using color-coding, making it easy to quickly grasp the nature of the modifications. Different colors represent different types of changes.
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Worksheet Navigation: If your workbooks contain multiple worksheets, Spreadsheet Compare compares them sheet by sheet. You can navigate through the worksheets using the forward and back buttons on the horizontal scroll bar located above the grids.
Note: Even if a worksheet is hidden in the Excel file, Spreadsheet Compare will still include it in the comparison and display it in the results. This ensures a thorough analysis regardless of worksheet visibility settings.
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Color-Coded Differences: The side-by-side grid uses cell fill colors and text font colors to indicate discrepancies. For example, cells containing “entered values” (values directly typed in, not resulting from formulas) that have been changed are often highlighted with a green fill color in the grid and a green font in the results list pane. A legend in the lower-left pane clearly explains what each color signifies, allowing you to readily interpret the comparison results.
Screenshot showing a side-by-side comparison of two Excel worksheets in Spreadsheet Compare, highlighting differences in cell values and formulas with color-coded fills.
Consider an example where you are comparing sales data for two quarters. If the initial version (left pane) had preliminary Q4 figures, and the updated version (right pane) contains finalized Q4 numbers in column E. In the comparison results:
- Cells E2:E5 in both versions might have a green fill, indicating that an entered value has changed.
- Consequently, if the “Year-to-Date” (YTD) column (e.g., column F) is calculated based on these quarterly figures, the calculated results in cells F2:F4 and E6:F6 might be highlighted with a blue-green fill, signifying that a calculated value has changed.
- Furthermore, cell F5 might also show a change, but the underlying reason could be more significant – perhaps the formula in the earlier version was incorrect (e.g.,
=SUM(B5:D5)missing Q4). The updated version might have corrected formula=SUM(B5:E5). Spreadsheet Compare helps uncover not just data changes, but also formula discrepancies.
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Resize Cells for Better Viewing: If cell contents are truncated due to narrow column widths, click on Resize Cells to Fit option. This adjusts column widths to ensure you can see the complete content of each cell, making it easier to review the differences.
Benefits of Comparing Excel Worksheets
Why is comparing 2 excel worksheets so beneficial? Here are key advantages:
- Error Detection: Quickly identify discrepancies, inconsistencies, and data entry errors between different versions of spreadsheets.
- Auditing and Compliance: Track changes made to critical spreadsheets for audit trails and regulatory compliance.
- Version Control: Understand exactly what modifications were made between versions, aiding in version management and control.
- Formula Verification: Ensure formulas remain consistent and correct across workbooks or versions, preventing calculation errors.
- Efficiency: Save significant time and effort compared to manual comparison, especially for large and complex spreadsheets.
- Collaboration: Facilitate clearer communication and understanding of changes when multiple users are working on the same spreadsheets.
Exploring Excel’s Inquire Add-in
Beyond Spreadsheet Compare, Excel offers another valuable tool for workbook analysis: the Inquire add-in. Available in Excel 2013 and later (and needs to be activated), the Inquire add-in provides an “Inquire” tab in Excel’s ribbon. This add-in includes features to:
- Analyze workbook structure and complexity.
- Visualize relationships between cells, worksheets, and workbooks.
- Clean up excessive formatting that can bloat file size and hinder performance.
While Spreadsheet Compare excels at side-by-side comparisons, the Inquire add-in provides broader analytical capabilities within Excel itself. You can even launch Spreadsheet Compare directly from Excel using the Inquire add-in’s “Compare Files” command if you have two workbooks open that you wish to compare.
Conclusion and Next Steps
Comparing 2 Excel worksheets effectively is crucial for data accuracy, control, and efficiency. Microsoft Spreadsheet Compare offers a robust and user-friendly solution for this task, allowing you to quickly pinpoint differences and understand changes. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can leverage this powerful tool to enhance your spreadsheet management practices.
For organizations heavily reliant on Excel for critical operations, consider exploring Microsoft Audit and Control Management Server and Microsoft Discovery and Risk Assessment Server for even more advanced change management, inventory, and analysis features for Excel and Access files.
Further explore the capabilities of Spreadsheet Compare and related tools to optimize your workflow and maintain data integrity in your Excel workbooks. You can also find more information in the Overview of Spreadsheet Compare.
